Just Take One Step at a Time
by Hikari-Chan77
Summary: Can this hopeless romantic get the woman of his dreams  and protect her from his past while dealing with his own deadly secrets and rivals for her and his affections. A story of romance, jealousy, friendship, adventure, and comedy.
1. Chapter 1

Summary- Lucy is a young girl who does nothing but get into trouble when it comes to using her magic. When she decides to leave home after a incident and join Fairy Tail, a place for magic users who want to travel, she meets a boy named Natsu who claims to have met her many years ago when she was hurt. Lucy however doesn't remember this boy and see's him as a type of stalker. However when Natsu shows her his necklace she begins to realize that he is telling the truth since that was the necklace her mom made just for her. Despite Lucy excepting Natsu as the boy that saved her, she refuses to fall in love with him and says that she's going to travel the world in order to beat her twin sister who has done nothing but make her life a misery. Natsu then decides to go with her and protect her and somehow get her to fall in love with him. The only problem is that he is the son of the fire demon, who was the one that sealed him up so many years ago, and keeps finding himself either being targeted by women who want to marry him or men who want him dead. To make matters even worse the pair soon find themselves in a deadly plot and must somehow survive.

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><p>A dark cave, which was rumored to have a sealed demon inside, held a young girl who fell from a larger whole that she didn't see as she wondered into the upper area of the cave. Her soft cries could not be heard by anyone. Her body was bruised and her leg was sprained by the fall she had experienced by wondering into this place.<p>

"Mommy...," she said scared. She looked down at her hurt ankle and gently touched it. The pain she felt was like a needle that jabbed into her skin. Soon the tears came down faster and her crying was louder.

She tried to stand and limp out of the cave but as she did she felt another sharp pain in her leg. She looked back down and saw that she had a cut right near her knee and it looked deep.

So hopeless she was. Her crying was the only thing that might enable someone to hear her. But alas no one came. "Why are you crying?" a voiced asked out of nowhere. The young girl, with a startled expression, looked up to see a boy looking down at her.

His short rosy hair and black eyes was something the girl had never seen before. "M-my leg," she trembled. "I-I hurt it when I fell f-f-from the hole..."

The boy smiled and bent down to her patting her head. "What's you're name?" he asked gently.

"L-Lucy..." Her voice soften. She didn't know if she could trust this mysterious boy.

"That's a pretty name." His smile caused Lucy to blush a bit. He was quite handsome. "Well let me take a look." He slowly grabbed her leg and gently massaged her ankle. Lucy flinched a bit but tried to act strong. Soon the pain was gone and she could freely move her ankle. The boy then went to her knee. "This might sting a bit." Lucy nodded her head to show that she could take it. Natsu just smiled.

He bought his right hand over to her knee and in no moment at all his hand began to glow fiery red. Lucy was tempted to move because she was afraid he was going to burn her. Natsu seemed to know what she was thinking and shook his head. Lucy calmed down and closed her eyes.

Soon she felt a warm hand against her knee. The stinging pain came in an instant but disappeared just as fast. When she opened her eyes she saw that her wound was gone. "There," he said grinning. "Nothing to worry about anymore."

Lucy's pale face began to turn red. "So... w-what's your name then?" She asked sheepishly.

He looked back at her. "Natsu."

"Natsu? I like that name a lot," she said with sparkles in her eyes.

"Hahah really?"

"Yes. It's a unique type of name."

"Well that's a first. People usually hate my name..."

Lucy looked at him with confusion. "Why?"

The boy gave her a sad look as if he was about to cry. Lucy gently touched his face. "Why do you look so sad?" she asked worried. But before he could answer, Lucy heard a loud and rather panicky voice coming from the inside of the cave. "Mommy!" she said suddenly getting up.

"So that's you're mom's voice huh?"

"Yes! She's come to get me." Lucy began to run in the direction of her mother but stopped when Natsu wasn't following her. "You can't stay here mister Natsu," she said walking over to him. "Come with me and we can find your parents to."

"I don't have any parents Lucy..."

Lucy eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"I'm all alone. I've lived here for some time now..." His face grew sadder.

"Then come live with me. Mommy would let you live with us."

Natsu shook his head. "I-I can't Lucy... I'm stuck here..."

Lucy tilted her head as the voice of her mom was getting louder. "Oh I know!" she said suddenly. She reached behind her neck and took off a heart shaped necklace. "Mommy made this for me. She said that this will give happiness to anyone who wears it." She showed the necklace to him.

"I can't take this..."

"No it's ok. I think you need it more than me."

Natsu was just about to shake his head when Lucy heard her mom's voice coming closer to them. She quickly stuck the necklace in his hand and ran in the opposite direction. Before leaving she turned around and said "Thank you for helping me mister Natsu. I'm sure we'll meet again." She waved goodbye to him and he gave a sad smile..

"Lucy!" her mom said as she was running to her. "Are you alright!"

"Yes I'm fine mommy," Lucy said when her mom hugged her.

"Lucy what you did was stupid. You could've fallen to your death from that hole. If I didn't have help from the spirits I never would have found the entrance to this place!" she yelled letting go of Lucy

"I-I'm sorry but don't be mad mommy. I was saved by boy...His name is Natsu and he healed my wounds."

Lucy pushed her mom away and ran back to the area where Natsu was. "Wait Lucy," her mom shouted out. "It could be dangerous over there."

"Don't worry mom. It's not dangerous. Besides I really want you to meet Natsu. He's really..." but she stopped talking when she came back to where he was. Nothing but the damp rocks were in front of her. "N-natsu," she said unhappily. But there was no answer.

"Lucy what's the matter?" her mom asked as she ran up to her.

"He's gone mom...The boy is gone..."

Her mom looked in all directions. "What boy?" Lucy didn't say anything. Her thoughts were solely on that mysterious boy.


	2. First Step Getting to Your Destination

Thanks for the reviews in the first chapter. I hope you enjoy this to the people that read it. Anyway enjoy

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><p>Lucy looked down from her mansion window, and glared at her sister aggravated. As usual she was being surrounded by townsfolk. This time however it wasn't to give her a happy good morning but rather a tearful goodbye. Lucy's sister, who was also her twin, was leaving for Fairy Tail in order to travel.<p>

She had been planning this trip for a long time now. Lucy's dad was overwhelmed with happiness when he heard that his favorite daughter was going to become a top mage. Lucy though didn't share the same emotions the others did, which was sadness and happiness all combined in one.

She felt jealous. Jealous of that fact that her girly sister was getting out of this town, while she was stuck in the house. The thought of someone like her adventuring the world, meeting new people, and getting treasures beyond compared, which was actually the main reason Lulu was doing this, made Lucy feel sick.

An attention seeking girl is what Lucy thought of Lulu. Getting guys to fall for her, making friends with rich girls, and getting everyone to adore her was just one of the things Lucy hated about her sister. But what Lucy hated the most was watching her sister with jealousy.

"Lucy," a gentle voice called out. "May I come in?"

"Yeah…" she said not really paying attention.

Her door opened and in walked a short yet cute maid with medium length auburn hair and ocean eyes. In her hands she was carrying some frilly dresses that had been mostly pink. "Lucy," she said putting the dresses on the bed. "Don't you want to say goodbye to your sister before she leaves?"

"Why should I even bother Julia? It's not like she cares if I say my farewells. Besides she's not leaving for another 2 hours. She's just trying to get attention."

Julia sighed. "Well even if that's true I think you should try and make peace with each other. I mean you two have been at each other since you were little."

At it? Yes the two of them were always at it. Fighting, hitting each other, basically anything that had destruction in it. Lucy saw her sister as her greatest rival. Because of Lulu she was unpopular with the boys and girls of her town. Everyone saw her as a freak or weirdo. Even Lucy's own father didn't seem to like her that much.

The only one she could count on was Julia, the maid that had been there for her when her mom died. Julia was like a sister to Lucy, and she wishes that Julia really was. She was the only person that ever understood her and would always somehow deal with Lucy's mood swings. The two were always very close, so one wouldn't be surprised if Lucy got jealous when Julia was with her sister."I don't want to make peace with the little princess down there….."

"So you'd rather just stay up here watching her?"

"…Yes…."

Julia groaned at Lucy's stubbornness. "Well Lucy either you go say goodbye to her or go see you're father. I heard from the others that he's looking for you."

Lucy quickly jumped up from the floor. Her honey blonde hair was standing up. "Dad wants to see me!" she said scared. "About what!'

Julia began to laugh. "About nothing. I was only kidding. I wanted you to get up from the floor."

Lucy groaned."Your mean Julia! But if you want me to see her so badly I will. At least she'll be gone from the house."

"That's my Lucy."

Lucy smiled and walked past Julia, who began to clean her room. She then went down the spiral, wood steps that lead to the copper door. She tiptoed past her father who was on the phone bragging about Lulu and her soon departure.

Once outside Lucy hid behind a tree as Lulu was talking to all her so called friends in the rose garden. "Aww Lulu," a young girl with pigtails cried. "Do you really have to go?"

"I'm sorry everyone but I must. I want to see all the wonders of this world."Some people began to cry while some complimented Lulu on her bravery.

"Man there stupid," Lucy said quietly. "How can they fall for such an act?"

After about 30 minutes of Lulu being pampered by her fans, they began to leave. Lulu was standing there confidently like she just won a big reward. Lucy was just about to go over to her when she saw a boy coming to Lulu.

Lulu quickly blushed. It was a boy had pure black hair which shined from the sun and deep gold seductive eyes."Caspian," Lulu shouted while jumping into his arms. "I'm so glad you came."

"Like I would miss my girlfriend's departing," he said holding her tightly.

"Oh I wish you would come with me Caspian. It'll be so lonely without you…."

"Don't worry Lulu. I'll try and figure out a way to find you."Lulu began to cry and Lucy felt like she was going to throw up.

Caspian and Lulu were the stupidest, yet most popular, couple Lucy had ever seen. Caspian looked like a prince but had the attitude of a demon. He treated most of the girls like servants, kind of what Lulu did. For some strange reason Lulu was the only person he treated like human. "Their love won't last long," Lucy thought while she chuckled a bit.

"Well I must go my love. But I swear that we'll meet again."

"Ok Caspian." He let go of Lulu and waved goodbye to her as she did to him, with tears coming down her face.

"Faker!" Lucy said coming out of hiding.

Lulu quickly turned around with a scared look on her face. It soon disappeared when she saw that it was her sister. "Well, well, if it isn't little miss weirdo.

Lucy walked closer to her and gave a menacing smile. "Call me what you will Lulu but at least I'm not an attention seeking twit."

Lulu clutched her fists at that statement. "Well at least I'm not a boring girl who'll be staying at home with no friends."

"I'd rather stay home than be a clueless blonde like you who doesn't know a thing about adventure."

"Why you…!"

The tension between them was rather high. For a moment it looked like they were about to get into a fight. Luckily Julia came just in the nick of time. "Stop!" she yelled running to them.

The two turned to her and Lulu quickly put on her face. "I-I'm so s-s-sorry Julia b-but she started it….."

"W-What!"

"Yeah I'm sure she did," Julia said hugging Lulu.

Lulu gave a smile. "Well," she sniffed. "I better go see dad for my final goodbye's."

"You know you shouldn't do that…." Lucy said folding her arms looking at Julia annoyed.

"Do what?"

"Act like your taking her side…"

"I only did that so you two wouldn't get into another brawl." She turned to Lucy. "Now let's go inside and have some lunch. I am really hungry." Lucy smiled and nodded her head and soon the pair went back inside the brick mansion.

Lucy spent lunch in her room. She didn't want to deal with her sister or her father. Sadly the time in her room felt like an eternity. She paced back and forth waiting to hear the car drive off with her sister inside.

Finally about an hour later she heard her sister crying towards Julia and her father. She looked outside and saw Lulu waiving goodbye to them, and the others. As she was walking to the black car, Lulu looked up at Lucy's window and gave an evil look and a triumphant expression.

Lucy's clutched the edges of her window's curtains as that feeling of jealous and envy came back inside her. She ran over to her bed and grabbed her pillow in order to throw it against the wall. But when she was about to do that she looked down at the spot were her pillow was and saw a letter.

She picked it up. It was a letter from Julia. Lucy could tell because it was a pink envelope with hearts all around the corners. She was tempted to open it but didn't want to. She knew that her sister most likely wrote something rude. Soon though her temptation took over and she ripped the letter open.

Dear Lucy (Aka Freak)

I know it must be hard for you to have such a boring life. I mean you have no friends or even a boyfriend. I truly do feel sorry for you. Maybe if you looked more like a girl and less like a freak, people could approach you more. But sadly I guess you were born as the ugly twin. Anyway I have some great news for you. Dad decided that he's going to send you to boarding school because of what you did. I guess that's why he wouldn't let you go to Fairy Tail. I tried to tell him to send you to a crazy house but he wouldn't listen to me. Well anyway I hope you enjoy you're boring life at Saint James Boarding School for girls.

Your Beautiful sister Lulu

P.s The school also doesn't allow magic to be used so I guess you're magic days are over hehe.

Lucy's hands began to tremble. Wether it was that her sister pissed her off even more or that the fact her dad was sending her to boarding was unknown. Both scenarios pissed her off greatly. The one about her father sending her away seemed to be the one that made her most angry.

A couple of weeks ago Lucy got into a terrible fight with some guys who were bullying an animal. She ended up severely hurting these boys with her magic after they nearly killed it. To her bad luck these boys happened to be some of her fathers client's sons. They told him what happened and he and her ended up having a fight, which Lulu seemed to enjoy at the time.

Lulu had always been his favorite. He got her everything from diamond necklaces to millions of was seen as the perfect child. Her magic was pretty strong, and she never messed anything up

Lucy on the other hand was the exact opposite. She would always get into fights, break things, and yell at people older than her. Her magic wasn't that powerful but when angry it could grow stronger than her sister's.

That's what made her sister going on her little adventure even more stupid. Lucy was experienced with danger and knew the lands better than anyone. She had always studied them in books and would travel with her mother to exotic places. Her sister on the other hand had none of these experiences. She was better at staying home acting like a princess.

"That's it!" Lucy shouted getting of her bed. "I can't take it anymore! I'm going to show those two what an adventurer is really like! Then that little perfect princess will eat her words!"

For the rest of the day, Lucy tried to stay nice. She gave her father smiles and pretended to like him. He of course didn't by it. At dinner was when his suspicion finally grew. "Why are you so nice to me today?" he asked when a plate of food was placed in front of him by Julia.

"I just don't want to be trouble for you..."

Her father looked at her suspiciously as he stroked his yellow beard. "You know I heard from Lulu that she told you my plan so I know that your trying to get out of it.."

"No I'm not..."

"Of course you are. Your still mad that I won't let you leave. Well I don't care how you act or what you do. A girl like you could never survive a world out there."

Lucy grabbed her blue dress from under the table but smiled. "Whatever you say father..."After that dinner went on with silence. Her dad left without saying goodbye which actually caused her to be a little sad since she planned to leave tonight.

Once he was gone, Lucy quickly stood up to leave. But before she ran out Julia stepped in front of her looking more suspicious than her dad. "What are you up to?"

Lucy stepped back. "W-what do you mean?"

"That was the first time I've ever seen you act kind to your dad and not argue...So what are you up to..."

"Nothing Julia. I just wanted to make amends with him before I left for that school..." Lucy slowly walked past her. "Well I need to get some sleep..." Lucy then scurried up the stairs with Julia watching her.

Once she was in her room Lucy waited to make sure that everyone was gone. It took quiet a while for her to wait. Everyone was awake for a while. Finally when she heard no sound she began to raid her closet for her bag.

After rummaging in there for a while she pulled out a medium brown bag. In it she put some supplies like underwear, toothpaste, and some money that she saved up. She then looked for some clothing that was fit for an adventure. This was likely to be the hardest thing to find because most of her cloths were dresses that her dad forced her to wear.

After some time she found exactly was she needed. A white and ocean blue shirt with a blue skirt seemed to fit compared to her other things. She rushed to the bathroom and put the outfit on. One look in the mirror made her eyes sparkle. She looked just like an adventurer and she was ready to head to Fairy Tail.

She stuck some extra cloths in the bag and sneaked out the door. She tiptoed to the stairs and tried not to creak as she went down them. "Almost in the clear..." she said softly. She walked to the front door and was about to reach the nob when a angry voiced called out to her.

"Lucy Heartfillia! Where do you think your going!"

Lucy turned around and saw Julia standing in the kitchen door archway. Her foot was tapping on the floor and her arms were crossed. "Oh h-hey Julia... I was um.. just going out..."

"Out to were may I ask?" she asked while walking over to her.

"Just for a walk..."

"Lucy don't play me for a fool. I knew from the moment you began acting nice to your father that you were up to something."

Lucy sighed. "Okay you got me...I'm leaving Julia..."

"Leaving!" Julia lashed out.

"Yes. I'm going to go to Fairy Tail and join the guild in order to become an adventurer and beat Lulu..."

"That's ridiculous Lucy...You don't know the first thing about adventuring..."

"I know a lot more that Lulu! I've study it with you since mom died! Even she taught me... I know much more than people think.." Lucy's voice began to rise. "I'm sick of people thinking I can't do anything. Well here is were I prove them wrong. I don't want to stay here with him anymore! I want to do something great!" Julia looked her for a moment with lack of words. Lucy's face looked not only determined but also sad in a way. She seemed to be suffering much more than Julia thought.

She just smiled. "I see...I guess I can understand how you feel..." She went closer to Lucy and hugged her, which caused Lucy to blush a bit. "It really is time for you to be on your own...I won't stop you..." Lucy heard sniffles in Julia's voice. "But please keep safe and keep in touch with me now and then."

Lucy nodded her head in Julia's arms. Julia let her go. "I will come back to you one day Julia...I promise..." Julia smiled. Lucy then turned around and opened the door. It was a chilly night yet beautiful because of the stars.

She took a deep breath and walked towards the golden gate. Before heading out the gate she turned to Julia and said. "I promise I'll make you proud Julia." Julia smiled, with tears in her eyes, and waved goodbye to Lucy. Lucy smiled back and then quickly ran to her next destination, Fairy Tail.


End file.
